St Peter Of Damascus Works

in 2 books St. Peter of Damascus. 3 Book Contents. 3 Preface to the publication in Russian translation. 5 Preface of the original 8 Book one. 9 The beginning with God of the contents of the book of the venerable and God-bearing father our Hieromartyr Peter of Damascus. 9 Necessary and very useful indication of the seven bodily works. 25 That he who wishes to keep the commandments must begin with fear God, so as not to crawl into the abyss. 29 About the second commandment and that fear gives birth to crying. 30 About the four virtues of the soul 37 About pro-active knowledge. 38 That bodily virtues are instruments of the soul 39 That it is impossible to be saved except by strict attention and guarding the mind. 41 About the fact that those who want to see themselves, in what dispensation they are moral, they can achieve this only by moving away from their desires, obedience and silence, especially those possessed by passions. 42 About the eight mental knowledges. 44 A necessary explanation about the first knowledge and about the way it should start 46 About the second lead. 48 About the third leading. 50 About the fourth knowledge. 58 About the Fifth Knowledge. 69 About the Sixth Knowledge. 70 About the Seventh Knowledge. 77 About the Eighth Knowledge. 78 That there is no disagreement in the Divine Scriptures. 79 Sharing the prayer of all knowledge. 81 About humility. 83 About Dispassion. 83 Best Recognition of the Seven Bodily Activities. 86 About Reasoning. 88 About reading according to God. 91 About True Reasoning. 94 About the fact that one should not despair, even if many have sinned. 95 Brief teaching on acquiring virtues and avoiding passions. 97 How can anyone acquire true faith?. 99 That silence is most beneficial to the passionate. 103 That True Repentance is a Great Good. 105 On the General and Special Benefits of God131. 107 That God Created Everything for Our Benefit 109 That the Word of God is Not Verbosity. 110 That Without Humility it is Impossible to Be Saved. 112 On Edifying the Soul with Virtues. 116 That Love and Advice with Humility are Great Blessings. 119 That the Frequent Reminder of Divine Scripture is Not Verbosity. 122 Explanation 143 about False Knowledge. 125 Calculus of Virtues. 136 Calculus of the Passions. 138 On the Difference between Thoughts and Intentions. 140 Book two, containing twenty-four short words, full of spiritual knowledge. 145 Preface. 145 Word 1 153. On spiritual wisdom.. 145 Word 2 156. About faith. 147 Word 3 157. About the Fear (of the Lord), Introductory and Perfect 150 Word 4 159. About piety. 153 Word 5 162. About Patience. 156 Word 6 164. About Hope (for the Future) 159 Word 7 169. About Impartiality. 162 Word 8 171. On the Mortification of Passions. 165 Homily 9 176. About the Honest Sufferings177 of Christ 168 Word 10 181. About humility182. 173 Word 11 186. About Reasoning. 176 Word 12 191. On the Knowledge of Sensory Creations. 181 Word 13 193. About Mental Knowing [understanding] 183 Word 14 194. About True Dispassion. 185 Word 15 196. About Love. 186 Word 16 198. About the Knowledge of God. 188 Word 17 199. About Wisdom.. 190 Word 18 201. About Chastity. 191 Word 19 202. About Courage. 192 Word 20 203. About Truth. 192 Word 21 204. About the Perfect World of Thoughts. 193 Word 22 205. About Spiritual Joy. 194 Word 23 208. About the Divine Scriptures, that there is No Disagreement in them.. 197 Word 24 214. About how a Person Comes to his Senses and Learns Something Useful 202

There are countless under-studied or ignored authors from the Byzantine Empire awaiting scholarly attention. In the area of Byzantine spirituality the twelfth century as a whole has received little consideration, primarily owing to the perceived lack of any significant or noteworthy author. While the tenth-century mystic Symeon the New Theologian and the fourteenth-century hesychast Gregory Palamas have been the focus of much academic industry, little serious attention is paid to figures from the intervening centuries. Recognizing that literature on monasticism and empire in the twelfth century is extensive, this book hopes to fill the void that appears to have marked the study of spirituality of the same period by taking as its subject the twelfth -century monk and spiritual theologian Peter of Damascus. Peter of Damascus: Byzantine Monk and Spiritual Theologian seeks to renew interest in a figure who was an important contributor to the larger field of Byzantine monasticism and spirituality. Using unedited manuscripts, prosopographical evidence, and published sources, this study attempts not only to recover the shape of Peter's life and work but also to elucidate his spirituality through a detailed examination of both The Admonition to His Own Soul and The Spiritual Alphabet, demonstrating the ways in which that spirituality remained accessible both to monastics and non-monastics.

"The Sacred Writings Of ..." provides you with the essential works among the Christian writings. The volumes cover the beginning of Christianity until medieval times. This volume is accurately annotated, including * an extensive biography of the author and his life "Concerning the Orthodox Faith", the third book of the "Fountain of Wisdom", is the most important of John Damascene's writings and one of the most notable works of Christian antiquity. Its authority has always been great among the theologians of the East and West. Here, again, the author modestly disavows any claim of originality — any purpose to essay a new exposition of doctrinal truth. He assigns himself the less pretentious task of collecting in a single work the opinions of the ancient writers scattered through many volumes, and of systematizing and connecting them in a logical whole. It is no small credit to John of Damascus that he was able to give to the Church in the eighth century its first summary of connected theological opinions. At the command of Eugenius III it was rendered into Latin by Burgundio of Pisa, in 1150, shortly before Peter Lombard's "Book of Sentences" appeared. This translation was used by Peter Lombard and St. Thomas Aquinas, as well as by other theologians, till the Humanists rejected it for a more elegant one. The author follows the same order as does Theodoret of Cyrus in his "Epitome of Christian Doctrine". But, while he imitates the general plan of Theodoret, he does not make use of his method. He quotes, not only form the pages of Holy Writ, but also from the writings of the Fathers. As a result, his work is an inexhaustible thesaurus of tradition which became the standard for the great Scholastics who followed. In particular, he draws generously from Gregory of Nazianzus, whose works he seems to have absorbed, from Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Cyril of Alexandria, Leo the Great, Athanasius, John Chrysostum, and Epiphanius. The work is divided into four books. This division, however, is an arbitrary one neither contemplated by the author nor justified by the Greek manuscript. It is probably the work of a Latin translator seeking to accommodate it to the style of the four books of Lombard's "Sentences".

John of Damascus (c. 675 - 753 (777?)) (Greek Ιωαννης ο Δαμασκηνος) - reverend saint, one of the Church Fathers, theologian and hymnographer. He bore the hereditary nickname Mansur ("victorious"). His father Sergius (Ibn-Serjun) served at the caliph’s court in Damascus with the title of “great dogofet,” a tax collector. Subsequently, he was replaced by John himself. According to legend, he studied with Cosma (later of Mayumsk) with a captive monk from Calabria (also named Cosma). About 736 he was tonsured at the monastery of St. Sava near Jerusalem. Known as the largest systematizer of Christian dogma; he owns the fundamental work "The Source of Knowledge", which includes the philosophical ("Dialectics"), accusatory ("On heresies") and dogmatic ("Exact exposition of the Orthodox Faith") sections. During the period of iconoclasm, he advocated the veneration of icons, the author of “Three Defensive Words in Support of Icon veneration,” in which iconoclasm is understood as a heresy of heresy, and for the first time there is a distinction between “service”, befitting only to God, and “worship”, provided to created things, icons included. The Iconoclastic Council of 754 anathematized John four times, Church tradition ascribes to John a number of canons that changed the course of Matins, the compilation of the Octoichus and many troparia, kontakia and stichera(s) dedicated to various saints and festive events. The fundamental work "Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith" is the first systematic exposition of the Orthodox faith. The work of John of Damascus is still the main symbolic book of Orthodoxy, the main source of the foundations of Christian teaching for the Orthodox Church. This work is the statements of the Monk John concerning the general principles of faith, the Church, morality, morals, a consistent and harmonious examination of the doctrine of God, the Trinity, the creation of the world, angels and demons, visible nature and paradise, about man, his attributes and providence. St. John of Damascus is venerated on December 4 (17). One of the types of icons of the Theotokos is associated with the name of John and the famous Mother of God chant “She rejoices about you...”. ... a silver image of the hand was attached to the icon of the Theotokos... and this icon received the name "Three-Handed" (Troeruchitsa) Rev. Father John, pray to God for us.

In John of Damascus and Islam, Schadler offers a reassessment of the Christian application of the term heresy to Islam, and the description of the new religion made by John of Damascus in the eighth century C.E.